Due to circumstances beyond my control this past week, I've been unable to finish my trip report. The air has cleared and I promise to get back to it in the next day or so.

Baladeuse - the area around the Bastille is very safe at night, lots of traffic and pedestrians, cafes etc.. During the day it is a fabulous area. Depending on where you are - your street looks quite long, you can shop on rue St. Antoine. Monoprix is a good grocery store, that also sells clothing, souveniers, housewares, cosmetics, cute dog toys (just ask our little Zebby) and there are lots of patisseries, butchers, delis, take out, crepes, and stores for vegetables/fruits, clothing, wine, honey (the small store next to Monoprix has numerous honeys and they give generous samples of their family produced products), FNAC for museum tickets and CD etc..

Except for Le Petit Pamplet, we mainly ate in restaurants in other areas. We haven't eaten at any nearby restaurants for a few years now, but there were several on my list, highly recommended, that we didn't get to this trip. I'll give you more info on them later.

Fishee, the brand name of the black and gold stapler on the Lee Valley site, is El Casco. I verified that with Lee Valley Customer Service because their price was so much lower than other online sources that DH found. Do a search on the name and you'll find some fabulous desk accessories from El Casco - the chrome and gold stapler, a fabulous pencil sharpener for $300 or so, scotch tape dispensers, all in various combinations of chrome, gold, black etc.. I'd have to have a pretty expensive desk to justify spending that much on accessories, but I'm putting them in my "Yeah ... Right" file.

Nina

I an wondering Nina, my husband had a three piece desk set; stapler, scotch tape holder and something else..I don't remember what it was. But they were brass and black and were made in the Basque area of Spain in a factory that was once a ammunition factory. Is this what you are talking about?

Yes, LoveItaly, that is exactly what this is, based on the description of the company's history. I hope you still have them, especially the beautiful IMO, scotch tape dispenser. I've never seen one in person, just online.

Hi Nina, I thought perhaps that is what you were talking about. They are beautiful..wish I cold remember what the third item was.

Nina, when I lost my husband two friends from Italy came to stay with me for a few weeks which was so wonderful as you can imagine. The male friend was in business and really loved beautiful things. I gave him by husband's desk items as he and my husband were so close. Our friend actually got tears in his eyes. So they are now in Florence, Italy. A perfect spot, don't you think?

P.S. Nina, I just reread your post, yes the third item was a pencil sharpener. BTW, I purchased these items many years ago (in the 1980's I believe) from a store in Marin Valley believe it or not. I don't remember where as it has been so long ago. Think it was for a birthday present. Each item came in a beautiful black box with gold lettering and the history on a brochure inside each box.